Civic workers hesitant to get health check-up

Although various non-governmental organisations and corporate companies conduct free health check-ups for the BBMP sanitation workers, they hesitate to participate for various reasons.

Some fear that missing their work to get screened for health would land them in trouble.

“If we miss out on our daily work, we will lose our salaries. Earlier, we had paper-based attendance. But now it is bio-metric based. If we miss the work, we will lose salaries,” said Adiamma (name changed), a pourakarmika, who works at Shankar Matt ward.

This was one of the main reasons that most of the workers mentioned while talking to DH.

Another pourakarmika, Chandramma (name changed) said she initially felt embarrassed to get screened.

“I hardly go to hospitals because I find myself very healthy. Even if I go for it, I found it embarrassing when it comes to urine tests, issues of periods, and anal discharges.”

But now after attending the Biocon project, she said she did not feel the way she felt earlier.

The doctors engaged with the project felt creating awareness among the workers about their health was a major challenge.